Karen A. Blase, Melissa Van Dyke, and Dean L. Fixsen National Implementation Research Network

1. Foundation Skills For Active Implementation Karen A. Blase, Melissa Van Dyke, and Dean L. Fixsen National Implementation Research Network FPG Child Development Institute University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Session 2 “Readiness” for Change And Connecting Through Rationales

2. Nominal Group Process SODAS SCOCS Motivational Interviewing Facilitation Skills Addressing Adaptive Challenges Conceptual Frameworks Ability: Develop and Communicate Big Ideas Maximizing Feedback Ability: Accept and Receive Feedback & Improve Communication Developing and Maintaining Relationships Ability: Provide Meaningful Recognition Readiness for Change & Connecting Through Rationales Ability: Develop and Provide Rationales Getting and Giving Information Ability: Observe and Describe Behavior Foundation Skills for Active Implementation

3. Session 1: Review • Observing and Describing Behavior • Second-hand Observations • Safely climbing the “Ladder of Inference”

4. Homework Exercise in Awareness Be alert for a conversation or time when you were or could have been less than safe as you climbed the ladder of inference Share today: • Describe what you might have said or checked out with others to avoid making unwarranted inferences. • OR….having recognized you were considering making inferences, you engaged in different behavior. Describe what you did or said to “climb the ladder safely”.

5. Homework Exercise in Observing and Describing • Provide some positive feedback to a friend, partner, spouse, child, stranger, or colleague that is behaviorally specific. • If possible use an email or written format for this and bring the written material, or your description of the process to the next session. • Be prepared at the next session to describe antecedents, your behavior, others behavior, and other “consequences”. • What went well? What felt awkward? Were there any unanticipated consequences? • Other: Any opportunity to use or see the value of second-hand observation skills?

6. Nominal Group Process SODAS SCOCS Motivational Interviewing Facilitation Skills Addressing Adaptive Challenges Conceptual Frameworks Ability: Develop and Communicate Big Ideas Maximizing Feedback Ability: Accept and Receive Feedback & Improve Communication Developing and Maintaining Relationships Ability: Provide Meaningful Recognition Readiness for Change & Connecting Through Rationales Abilities: Develop and Provide Rationales & Provide “Readiness”- Based Invitations Getting and Giving Information Ability: Observe and Describe Behavior Foundation Skills for Active Implementation

7. Change is Great! …..You go first!

8. Goals for Today’s Session A Key to Successful Implementation Major Implementation Initiatives occur in stages: • Exploration (Sustainability) • Installation (Sustainability) • Initial Implementation (Sustainability) • Full Implementation (Sustainability) Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005 Getting Ready for Change

9. Resistance to Change There is no such thing – only inadequate preparation It is not “their” problem, it is ours.

10. Goals for Today’s Session Assessing Readiness for Change How important is this change? • How do you feel at this moment about this change? • How important is it to you? How confident are you that we can make this change? • Right now, how confident do you feel that we can be with this change? Adapted from motivationalinterviewing.org

11. Goals for Today’s Session Creating Readiness for Change Importance + Confidence = Readiness for Change

12. Goals for Today’s Session Not important How important is this change? Not very important… “I’m not interested!” Or “Everything is fine the way it is!”

13. Goals for Today’s Session Not confident How confident are you that we can make this change? Not very confident… “The benefits are not great enough” or “Seems risky to me…”

14. Goals for Today’s Session Important, but not confident “I’d be interested in doing this, but I don’t know what to do or how to participate.”

15. Goals for Today’s Session Important, and gaining confidence “I’m on board and beginning to feel comfortable with the change!”

16. Goals for Today’s Session Important and confident “This change will make a positive difference! And we can do it!”

17. Goals for Today’s Session Working with the “Not Quite Ready” • Provide Information • What is the change, why now, and what might it mean for me? • “Reflect” Concerns • In a neutral way, acknowledge and validate the person’s concerns (e.g. “It sounds like you need more information…”, “It makes sense to me that you are wondering about whether this is a passing fad…”) • Roll with Resistance • Resistance is a signal to change strategies • New perspectives are invited but not imposed (e.g. “Would you like the opportunity to learn more about this?”) • Make the “right” invitation • The person’s perspective is a valuable resource in learning more about what is concerning or challenging about the change initiative Miller and Rollnick, 1991

18. Creating the Conditions for Change Using Rationales • Definition • Benefits • Guidelines in the Context “Readiness”

19. Definition and Benefits • A Rationale is a statement of • Naturally or logically occurring outcomes • Associated with current or future goals and/or behavior (“if…..then”). • Benefits • Data indicate that providing rationales: • Is respectful • Is supportive of honest exploration of issues • Promotes choice and “buy-in” • Increases confidence in decision-making • Promotes understanding of “functions” of the decisions being made rather than fostering compliance

20. Guidelines in the Context of “Readiness for Change” • Brief – Not a lecture • Aligned with degree of “readiness” • Relevant to the Individual • Not Interested or Thinking About It • Promote or provide assurance about the “upside” of taking risks • Points out the “downside” of not moving forward – a different view of ‘risk’ • Requires you to be “on purpose”

21. Actively Engage with the Other Person’s “Case” • Actively listening and expanding themes (e.g. job security, unfunded mandate, no time, uncomfortable with data) • So, tell me more about this sense of being disrespected? • Rolling with Resistance in checking out themes and validating the “big ideas” • Yes, it makes sense that you are worried about more work with no more resources

22. Actively Engage with the Other Person’s “Case” • Posing questions that include the other person’s concerns • Are their any options for addressing that?....How can I help? (General) • Maybe we can figure out what can come off of your plate before more work and responsibilities get added? (Specific) • Invitations to “get ready” • Would you be willing to/interested in thinking about that? [consider the change] • ….and getting back together to talk about this? [invite to action] • ....meeting with a few of us to explore this further [invite to action] • ….what seems like the next right step for you? [invite to action]

23. Let’s Practice Analyze a Stakeholder or Group and apply rationales and “readiness” thinking to the person(s) – Worksheet Provided. (5 minutes) Pair, share, and ask for input (10 minutes each) Report out something you learned from the other person or about yourself (20 minutes)

24. Homework: Rationales • Part I: Select one or more of the following assignments so that you can practice the skill because it has been shown that practice increases the likelihood of acquiring the skill. • Use rationales in an email request you are making of others. • Use rationales in an email request in which you are responding to another person’s query or request • Use rationales in an email in which you are providing information about implementation or upcoming opportunities or work. • Use rationales into a discussion (elevator speech) about the importance of implementation • Bring your emails with you to the next Foundations Session on April 16th

25. Homework: Readiness-Based Invitations • Part II: Practice providing and “testing” your hypotheses about a person or group’s “readiness to change” by issuing invitations that are matched to the level of readiness. • If people are “not yet ready” or are early to the engagement, offer opportunities to think, read, listen, attend (more passive and less “risky” invitations”). • If you think the person or group is more ready to actively participate in the ‘change’, offer an invitation that requires more action such as participating, producing something, chairing, creating, taking a ‘next right step’ that is action oriented (more active, more ‘risky’). • Don’t forget the brief, relevant to the person, personalized, rationale to go along with your invitation. • Bring your email and/or story back to the next Foundations Section on April 16th.

26. Stages of Change Stage of Change for Pre-Action Individuals: Precontemplation – 40% Contemplation – 40% Preparation – 20% “If only 20% of employees in organizations are prepared to take action. . . .” Janice M. Prochaska, James O. Prochaska, and Deborah A. Levesque (2001)